Eagles Head to the Palouse for Final Competition Before Big Sky Season

Eastern to face capable Cal Poly and familiar foes in
Washington State and Idaho

In its final tune-up before the 2010 Big Sky Conference season
commences, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team will
travel to Pullman, Wash., and Moscow, Idaho to take on Washington
State, Cal Poly and Idaho. The Eagles will play WSU on Thursday
(Sept. 9) at 7 p.m., and Cal Poly on Friday (Sept. 9) at 1 p.m. as
part of the Nike Cougar Challenge Tournament. Eastern will then
make the eight-mile trip across the border to face the Vandals on
Friday (Sept. 9) at 7 p.m.

“We are excited for this weekend and the opportunities
presented by competing against three top programs,” said EWU
head coach Miles Kydd. “Our schedule has been tough to date,
and this weekend will be no different. Our task remains the same
though; play better this time than last time. Keep grinding and
keep progressing.”

Since joining the Division I ranks in 1983-84, Eastern has faced
the Cougars nearly 30 times, but only three times in the last
decade. WSU defeated Eastern 3-0 in Pullman last year, but the
Eagles had won the previous two contests during the 2005 and 2008
seasons.

Contrary to the series with the Cougars, Friday’s match
between Eastern and Cal Poly will be just the third meeting in
history for the two programs. The Eagles and Mustangs are tied 1-1
in the all-time series after EWU swept Cal Poly during the 1999
season and then fell to the Mustangs 3-1 in San Luis Obispo in
2003. Cal Poly is off to a strong start in 2010, as the team
received 31 votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll. The Mustangs
earned the national recognition after upsetting then-No.18 Arizona
in their first game of the season on Aug. 27.

Following tournament play in Pullman, the Eagles will travel to
Moscow to face Idaho for seventh-consecutive season. Eastern has
won five of the last seven meetings with the Vandals, including a
3-0 victory last year on Reese Court.

LAST TIME OUT... The Eagles are coming off a
challenging weekend in Malibu, Calif., in which the squad faced
three teams who received votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll.
Eastern was swept by Missouri (25-16, 25-22, 25-17), Pepperdine
(25-9, 25-13, 17-25) and Rice (25-20, 25-14, 25-22) at the
Pepperdine Asics Classic. Senior Allison Reinstein, who currently
leads the team in attack percentage (.232) and service aces (7),
was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts in Malibu. She
recorded a team-leading five blocks and three services aces, while
also tallying 12 kills.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW... Sophomore Shelby
Puckett has been the main offensive threat for the Eagles thus far
in the season, as she averages a team-leading 2.90 kills per set.
She has tallied 58 total kills over six matches, including a
career-high 21 against Seattle (Aug. 28). Puckett has also
contributed 45 total digs (2.25 dps), which ranks third on the
team. Sophomore Laney Brown and redshirt-freshman Lindsay Niemeier
have split time at the setter position, with Brown averaging 5.50
assists per set and Niemeier at 5.07. Middle blockers Chenoa
Coviare and Allison Reinstein are taking care of business at
the net, as the those two players alone have contributed to 27 of
Eastern’s 30 blocks this season. In the backcourt, junior
libero Lindsey Petroni leads the squad with 59 total digs and 3.11
digs per set. Senior Jacque Brown has also been busy on the
defensive end, as she has picked up 54 total digs, while averaging
2.70 digs per set.

Scouting the Opposition

WASHINGTON STATE• Third-year head coach Andrew Palileo returns two
starters and five other letterwinners from his 2009 squad that
earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
• The Cougars are 3-3 on the season, which includes a 3-1
victory over Big Sky Conference team Weber State. The Cougs also
defeated UC-Irvine (3-0) and San Francisco (3-1), while suffering
losses to Idaho (0-3), Tulsa (0-3) and Santa Barbara (1-3).
• WSU is led this year by junior outside hitter Meagan Ganzer,
who averages 5.57 kills per set. She currently holds a .295 attack
percentage with 117 kills and only 37 errors on 271 attempts.
• On defense, the Cougs rely on sophomore libero Oceana Bush,
who was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in 2009. She picks up
4.67 digs per set, and has recorded six service aces this season.
The Cougs rank fourth in the Pac-10 in digs per set (13.38).

CAL POLY• The Mustangs return almost every starter from its
2009 squad that recorded a 9-20 overall record and finished seventh
in the Big West Conference.
• The Mustangs have two players who hit above .300 percent.
Sophomore middle blocker Jennifer Keddy has a .393 (72-14-140)
attack percentage, while her counterpart Dominique Olowalfe
currently hits a .390 (48-9-100).
• Freshman outside hitter Kristina Graven is also strong up
front, as she leads the team in total kills with 80.
• Cal Poly averages 2.37 blocks per set, which ranks second in
the Big West Conference. As a team, The Mustangs have tallied 99
total blocks this year. Keddy, who stands at six feet, four inches,
accounts for 30 of those blocks (1.15 bps).

IDHAO• Heading into the weekend, Idaho holds a 2-3 overall
record, but both of those wins were against schools Eastern will
also face during the 2010 campaign. The Vandals defeated Big Sky
Conference foe Weber State (3-1) and Washington State (3-0).
• The Vandals are led by redshirt-freshman Allison Walker, who
averages 5.30 kills per set and holds a .280 attack percentage
(80-26-193). Her kps average is second in the WAC.
• Senior middle blocker Kelsey Taylor, who was a preseason
all-conference selection, averages 1.25 blocks per set. Idaho, as a
team, averages 2.60 bps, which ranks third in the WAC.
• In addition to its notable blocking, Idaho is also the top
digging team in the WAC, averaging 18 digs per set. They are led by
junior Cassie Hamilton and sophomore setter Jennifer Feicht, who
average 4.29 and 2.71 dps, respectively.

EWU Notes

Reinstein
Named to All-Tournament Team- EWU senior
middle blocker Allison Reinstein was one of six elite athletes
named to the Pepperdine Asics Classic All-Tournament Team. She
recorded the best attack percentage on the Eagle squad at .219
(12-5-32), while also leading the team at the net with five total
blocks. She averaged 1.33 kills per set over the weekend, and
tallied three service aces. In total, Reinstein scored 18 points
for her team, which was the second-best overall effort for an Eagle
at the tournament in Malibu. Reinstein’s overall season
attack percentage of .232 is the best on the squad, while her seven
aces in 2010 not only lead the team, but is the top mark in the
conference for all seniors.

Three Eags
Earn Double-Doubles- So far this season,
three different Eagle volleyball players have recorded
double-doubles. Redshirt-freshman Lindsay Niemeier was the first to
accomplish the feat when she tallied 17 assists and 13 digs against
Mercer on Aug. 27. Sophomores Laney Brown and Shelby Puckett
notched their double-double the following day (Aug. 28) against
Seattle. Brown had a career-high 52 assists and 11 digs in the
contest, while Puckett recorded a career-high 21 kills and 19 digs.
Puckett also had four assists in that match for her third career
high mark of the day.

Freshmen
Force- Eastern’s 2010 lineup
features five talented athletes who had never played in a
collegiate volleyball match before this season. Redshirt-freshmen
Lindsay Niemeier and Ashley Wright, and true freshmen Tyler Calles,
Celeste Crosby and Esther Warren have all seen action in at least
three matches this year. Niemeier has been the starting setter for
Eastern in four of their six matches, tallying 76 total assists and
29 digs. Wright and Warren, who hit on the left side, have combined
for 36 kills and 12 blocks, while Calles and Crosby provide depth
in the back court. Calles has contributed six digs so far this
season, and Crosby has chipped in two.

Coviare Chases
Record- So far in her career, Chenoa
Coviare has tallied 384 total blocks, which ranks fifth on
EWU’s all-time records list. Last season alone, she recorded
a team-leading 144 blocks, which was the fourth-best single-season
performance in program history. If Chenoa can continue on that
track during her senior year, she will become the all-time leading
blocker in Eastern history. With 17 blocks already recorded this
season, she needs only 123 more to nab the record outright!

Eagles Endure
Stringent Schedule - Of the nine opponents
appearing on Eastern’s pre-Big Sky schedule, five of them are
either on or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll. In the Eagles
first weekend of 2010 season, they faced one of the top 10 programs
in the nation in Washington. The Huskies were ranked No. 8 at the
time, and defeated EWU 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-13). Last weekend at
the Pepperdine Asics Classic, all three of Eastern’s
opponents were receiving votes in the latest poll. The competition
does not ease up this weekend, as the team will face Washington
State, who earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last
season and Cal Poly, who received 31 votes in this week’s
poll. The Mustangs earned the national recognition after upsetting
then-No.18 Arizona (3-1) in their first game of the season on Aug.
27.

Eastern Picked
Fourth in BSC Preseason Poll - For the
third-straight year, the Eastern Washington volleyball squad was
ranked among the top four teams in the Big Sky Preseason
Coaches’ Poll. Eastern was picked fourth this season, behind
co-favorites Portland State and Montana, and 2009 BSC Tournament
Champion Northern Colorado, who came in third in the voting. EWU
has made 14 consecutive appearances in the BSC tournament,
including two title runs in 1989 and 2001. Last year, the team tied
for second overall in the regular season with a record of 12-4.

Eagles Honored
by AVCA- EWU earned the America
Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for its triumphs
in the classroom during the 2009-10 school year. The AVCA Team
Academic Award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams
that display excellence in the classroom during the year by
maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on
a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 team GPA on a 5.0 scale. Head coach Miles
Kydd’s team compiled an impressive 3.54 cumulative GPA during
the 2009-10 academic year. In addition to the national recognition,
the Eags also distinguished themselves in the Big Sky Conference,
as 11 members were named to the 2009 BSC All-Academic team; the
most for any volleyball squad in the league.